I just had to sigh and shake my head when I read a recent article titled “Is the Bible True? Or Is It Truth?” The article pokes fun at those who read the Bible “literally,” specifically calling out the global flood account as “pretty farfetched.” But the reasons he gives for why “the story of Noah is a tough nut to crack” are the same skeptical objections we’ve addressed for years!
Here are the objections author Scott Pinsker brings up, followed by a short answer with links to articles we’ve written on these topics (you can also find answers to nearly all these questions at the life-size Noah’s Ark at the Ark Encounter).
It’s rather frustrating to see skeptics—Christian or otherwise—mock the Bible for so-called “petty flaws” that thoughtful Christians have addressed for years!
It’s rather frustrating to see skeptics—Christian or otherwise—mock the Bible for so-called “petty flaws” that thoughtful Christians have addressed for years! Just a few minutes of research on our site would’ve shown that there are plausible answers to these questions (and he does know our site exists—he links to the Ark Encounter page!). And yet he just repeats the same tired objections he’s heard from equally uninformed skeptics.
Why does he raise all these objections? Well, it’s to supposedly bolster his main point:
There are infinite ways to interpret the Bible. The Bible is about God, after all, and everyone’s image of God is different: My mental image of God differs from yours. And if we can’t even agree on the starting point, it’s gonna be next to impossible to agree on all the twists and turns in the Scriptures.
The historicity of the Bible is a tricky topic—one that’s rife with recriminations, allegations, and declarations of faith. . . . Couldn’t an all-powerful, all-knowing God just as easily create a Holy Book that’s historical AND moral? Then why must it be one or the other? Why not both?
Only God Himself knows for sure.
If only God himself knows, wouldn’t it behoove us to look at what God has said about his own Word in his Word and take it as written? One verse in particular immediately comes to mind:
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. (John 5:46)
Jesus tells his skeptical audience that they would believe his words if they believed the history written in the Old Testament, because it all points to him. God recorded history, not just to teach us some “special wisdom . . . that can transform your soul,” but to point us to the Lord of history, Jesus Christ.
And he also gave us his Word—history—for our instruction, so we can know what is right and wrong and know how to think biblically. Consider that, after refreshing his audience on some Old Testament history, Paul writes:
Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. (1 Corinthians 10:6)
And,
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)
God’s Word is both historical and filled with spiritual truths—not because I say so, but because God himself says so! (And he would know—he authored it after all! See 2 Timothy 3:16). And besides, Genesis is written as typical historical narrative and is treated as such in the New Testament.
In the end, the author asks the question: “Do you believe the Bible is true—that every word and every claim should be taken 100% literally? Or do you believe the Bible is truth—that there’s a special wisdom within the Scriptures that can transform your soul, but truth comes in many forms, and you’ll have to work at uncovering the meaning for yourself?” (emphasis original)
I’ll simply let the Scriptures answer that question for themselves:
Your word is truth. (John 17:17)
The sum of your word is truth. (Psalm 119:160)
Let God be true though every one were a liar. (Romans 3:4)
God’s Word is truth because it is true—if it isn’t true, then God is a liar and therefore the Bible is not truth. You can’t have one without the other!
God’s Word is truth because it is true—if it isn’t true, then God is a liar and therefore the Bible is not truth. You can’t have one without the other!
Oh, and to clear up yet another misconception—we don’t take the Bible “100% literally.” We read the Bible naturally, according to genre, as it was meant to be read!
This item was discussed today on Answers News with cohosts Patricia Engler, Dr. Georgia Purdom, and Bryan Osborne. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum, broadcast on our Answers in Genesis YouTube channel, and posted to Answers TV. We also covered the following topics:
Be sure to join us each Monday at 2 p.m. (ET) on YouTube or later that day on Answers TV for Answers News. You won’t want to miss this unique news program that gives science and culture news from a distinctly biblical and Christian perspective.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken
This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.
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